268 SALMON FISHING 



owing to high falls, get any farther than the lake. 

 Whether they come down again before spawning, or 

 spawn in the lake, I leave to wiser heads than mine. 

 I can only state what I have seen. As regards the 

 mended kelts, as the natives term them, I am posi- 

 tive that these fish have been to the salt water. 

 They are just like bars of silver, with every scale 

 perfect. How long they have been in the salt water 

 I do not profess to know. My own theory is that 

 they get caught in the ice and have to spend the 

 winter in the river, or rather in the lake at the river 

 head, and as soon as the river is clear of ice go to the 

 sea, which, after having spent so much time in ice- 

 cold water, they feel unsuited to their condition, and 

 so quickly return to the rivers. I am quite open to 

 argument on the subject, however. Their flesh is 

 much whiter than that of the ordinary salmon ; but 

 they fight well, and not like an ordinary kelt. . . . 

 Yours ever, BRYAN LEIGHTON." 



A very bright coat is no evidence that a salmon 

 is not a kelt. In British rivers, as spring advances, 

 many kelts become brighter than are the fresh-run 

 fish. On the other hand, Lady Leighton mentions 

 that the peculiar salmon under discussion had sea- 

 lice on them, and that seems absolute proof of Sir 

 Bryan's theory. From Newfoundland, then, we have 

 received two very interesting problems, curiosity 

 about which may possibly result in important dis- 

 coveries as to the habits of salmon generally. 



As regards South Africa, our information is at 



